GAZOO Racing achieves spectacular one-two finish in Belgium at Total 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
GAZOO Racing (GR) returned to acquiring ways in the sixth round of the 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with a one-two success in an exciting Total 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The No. 7 TS050 Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) the team of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jos Mara Lpez reached the highest success handicap 1 to continue their World Championship lead to 12 points with just two races remaining.
They were driven hard by Sbastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley in the No. 8 TS050 HEV, who achieved 34.170 seconds back as the team won its fourth one-two of the season and extended its lead in the teams World Championship to 42 points. After times of sunshine and high temperatures, the famously volatile Spa weather struck just over an hour before the start, with a huge rainstorm causing the race to begin behind the safety car.
When racing continued on lap five, the TS050 HEVs excellent four-wheel-drive capabilities allowed Buemi to take the lead in the No. 8 TS050 HEV, while the No. 7 TS050 HEV shot into second place with Conway at the wheel. Amid continually growing conditions, the No. 8 TS050 HEV crew pitted a lap quicker and kept their Michelin wet tires, whereas the No. 7 TS050 HEV opted to change to dry tires
When the safety car was called shortly after due to an event involving another car, it soon became clear that positions supported the dry rubber. More thunderstorm was to come, however, as the next hour came to a close and both cars pitted concurrently for wets; the No. 7 TS050 HEV with Kobayashi at the wheel led the second-place No. 8 TS050 HEV, now driven by Hartley, by a minute.
The sun made a rare occurrence as the final third approached, allowing Lpez and Nakajima to take their stints on dry tires. The race began its final hour under the safety car, causing Nakajima on to the tail of Lpez and fixing up a tense duel heading into the final pit stop. Lpez took the lead under heavy pressure and both pit crews maintained the cars in near-identical times, with the No. 7 TS050 HEV pitting a lap after its sister car.
Conway took the wheel of the No. 7 TS050 HEV and saw out the spare 40 minutes, with Buemi continuing strong in second to cross the line 34.17 seconds behind at the flag. Hisatake Murata, Team President said: It was a tense race and a wonderful result for our team. Credit to the operators, mechanics and drivers for their great job in difficult conditions.
Thank you also to the WEC and the FIA for their hard work to enable us to race again in a safe atmosphere; everyone has made a big effort to put on a show today. Soon we all look forward to Le Mans, which is even extra special for GAZOO Racing this year. We are all starting to win this event for the third continuous time with the TS050 HYBRID.
Jos Mara Lpez, Driver of the No. 7 TS050 HEV, said: Today, everything worked in our favour; the weather allowed us to fight. All the plan calls we got on our car were the best ones. It has been a wonderful effort from the whole team, and especially my team-mates. Now we are equipped for Le Mans, our most important race; even without spectators we will give everything to get the win.
We are thrilled to claim the two top places on the podium and additionally extend our lead as we advance the final two races of the season. Id like to compliment the entire team on a different excellent performance in very challenging conditions, stated Kei Fujita, Chief Representative, Middle East and Central Asia Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation.
